Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest men's tennis players of all time, will retire from the sport after participating in the upcoming 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
The event takes place in Malaga in Nadal's native Spain, but unfortunately there wasn't a fairytale ending to an all-time elite sporting career.
Spain lost their quarter-final 2-1 to the Netherlands, with Nadal's opening rubber vs. Botic van de Zandschulp, a straight sets defeat, proving to be Rafa's last match.
2023 winners Italy are also in the running as they bid for a successful defence with the tournament now underway.
Here's everything you need to know.
When are the 2024 Davis Cup Finals?
The Finals begin on Tuesday, November 19 with the final taking place on Sunday, November 24.
Which countries are in the 2024 Davis Cup Finals?
At this stage, we whittled things down to eight nations:
- Italy (defending champions)
- Spain (hosts)
- United States
- Canada
- Netherlands
- Australia
- Germany
- Argentina
2024 Davis Cup Finals format: how it works
The eight countries have been drawn into knockout brackets, with four quarterfinals set to determine two semifinals and, lastly, the 2024 final.
The quarter-finals are as follows:
- Spain vs. Netherlands
- Canada vs. Germany
- United States vs. Australia
- Italy vs. Argentina
All QF, SF and final matches will take place on indoor hard courts at the Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga.
Each match will be decided by the best of three "rubbers", with "rubber" meaning an individual tennis contest between either two singles competitors or two doubles pairs.
Within each match there will be two singles rubbers and one doubles rubber.
2024 Davis Cup Finals schedule, confirmed rubber match-ups
Tie-break scores are in brackets.
Nov. 19: Netherlands 2-1 Spain (quarterfinal)
- Van de Zandschulp def. Nadal 6-4 6-4
- Griekspoor def. by Alcaraz 7-6 (7-0) 6-3
- Van de Zandschulp/Haarhuis def. Granollers/Alcaraz 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3)
Nov. 20: Germany 2-0 Canada (quarterfinal)
- Altmaier def. Raonic 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
- Struff def. Strapovalov 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5)
Nov. 21: United States 1-2 Australia (quarterfinal)
- Paul def. by Thompson 1-6 6-4 6-7 (14-16)
- Fritz def. Popyrin 6-3 6-4
- Ram/Krajicek def. by Purcell/Ebden 6-4 6-4
Nov. 21: Italy vs. Argentina (quarterfinal)
- Musetti vs. Cerundolo
- Sinner vs. Baez
- Bolelli/Vavassori vs. Gonzalez/Molteni
Nov. 22: Netherlands vs. Germany (semifinal)
- Altmaier vs. Van de Zandschulp
- Struff vs. Griekspoor
- Krawietz/Putz vs. Koolhof/Van de Zandschulp
Nov. 23: Australia vs. Italy/Argentina (semifinal)
- Participating nations and rubbers TBC
Nov. 24: Netherlands/Germany vs. Australia/Italy/Argentina (final)
- Participating nations and rubbers TBC
Which players are at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals? Full roster list
| Nation | Players* | Captain** |
| Italy | Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Flavio Cobolli, Andrea Vavassori, Simeone Bolelli | Filippo Volandri |
| Spain | Carlos Alcarez, Pedro Martinez, Roberto Bautista Agut, Rafael Nadal, Marcel Granollers | David Ferrer |
| United States | Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Rajeev Ram, Austin Krajicek | Bob Bryan |
| Canada | Denis Shapovalov, Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galarneau, Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil | Frank Dancevic |
| Netherlands | Tallon Griekspoor, Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper de Jong, Wesley Koolhof | Paul Haarhuis |
| Australia | Alexei Popyrin, Jordan Thompson, Thanasi Kolkkinakis, Max Purcell, Matthew Ebden | Lleyton Hewitt |
| Germany | Jan-Lennard Struff, Daniel Altmaier, Yannick Hanfmann, Kevin Krawietz, Tim Putz | Michael Kohlmann |
| Argentina | Sebastian Baez, Francisco Cerundolo, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Andres Molteni, Maximo Gonzalez | Guillermo Coria |
*Each nation selects a squad of players for the Finals, usually consisting of five men's players. However, as demonstrated by the Netherlands this year, they may also select only four.
**Each squad is skippered by a non-competing captain, who is usually a retired former player. Notable names such as Lleyton Hewitt and Bob Bryan are among this year's Finals captains.
